Brits think almost half of England is ‘built on’ – but real figure is less than 10 per cent August 17, 2023 Brits think almost half of land in England is built on by towns, roads or rail lines – despite the real figure being under nine per cent, polling has revealed. Six in 10 people in England also say retaining the current green belt should come before meeting housing needs, researchers at Ipsos for the Economist [...]
Row over why London built just one affordable home a month August 15, 2023 A row has broken out over why London has built just one affordable home a month, amid warnings the capital’s housing crisis is fast catapulting into an emergency situation. Figures published today reveal just three affordable homes were started by City Hall during April, May and June 2023 – while stats for previous years extend [...]
Avoid ULEZ options but tackle air pollution, Starmer says August 14, 2023 Cities should look at other options for tackling air pollution instead of schemes like London’s ULEZ (ultra low emission zone), Sir Keir Starmer has suggested. The Labour leader said no-one in the UK should be “breathing dirty air” but added that proposals for reducing air pollution should not have a disproportionate impact on people’s pockets [...]
ULEZ: ‘Unreasonable’ scrappage schedule means daily charges for ‘quite some time’ after expansion August 9, 2023 Many drivers will be charged daily fees “for quite some time” because London’s car scrappage scheme is not being extended until eight days before the expansion of the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ), a motoring services company has said. The RAC, which issued the warning, described the timings as “extremely frustrating”. The area covered by [...]
Sadiq Khan expands London ULEZ scrappage scheme in wake of Uxbridge by-election loss August 4, 2023 The Mayor of London has announced a major expansion of financial support designed to ease the impact of the capital’s ultra low emission zone (Ulez) on people’s pockets. Sadiq Khan said every Londoner with a polluting car facing charges under Ulez will now be able to receive a grant of up to £2,000 to support [...]
Here is the first glimpse of London Underground’s 94 new (air conditioned) Piccadilly Line trains August 1, 2023 London is close to welcoming 94 new shiny new Piccadilly Line trains, after the first of a new Siemens-built batch went for testing in Germany. Transport for London said the state-of-the-art tube trains had gone for trials at a test and validation centre in Wegberg-Wildenrath, Germany. Consisting of nine carriages, the trains came off the [...]
London Calling! Over two million tourists will visit this year in £674m boost to the capital August 1, 2023 London will welcome more than two million international tourists this year compared to last, bringing an additional £674m to the capital. As travel fully recovers post-pandemic, data from the London mayor’s office, shows that London was the top city in Europe for bed nights in 2022 with an increase of 131.5 per cent in 2021. [...]
ULEZ: High Court backs London Mayor Sadiq Khan’s controversial emissions charge July 28, 2023 Sadiq Khan’s ULEZ plan got a major boost today after a court threw out a judicial review claiming the scheme to charge drivers who fail to meet emissions standards was unlawful. Plans to widen the ultra low emission zone (ULEZ), already in place across inner London, slated to expand throughout Greater London’s 32 boroughs from [...]
Rishi Sunak and Sadiq Khan at loggerheads over London housebuilding July 27, 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has threatened to wade into mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s efforts on housebuilding in the capital. The politicians traded verbal blows today as the PM accused the mayor of failing to build enough homes for Londoners, while Khan branded his claims “desperate nonsense”. Speaking during a visit to a development in [...]
Met Police fail to solve 82 per cent of burglaries July 27, 2023 The Met Police failed to solve 82 per cent of burglaries in London last year, data has revealed. Figures from the Home Office for the 2022-2023 financial year show an average of 129 burglaries a day – or a total of 47,050 – were closed without a suspect being identified. While just six per cent [...]